Two drama teachers were sacked for allowing students to act in a play involving incest, rape and child abuse, which left children "vomiting and sobbing".

The play involved 15 to 16-year-olds acting out a scene where a father sexually abused his daughter and involved graphic descriptions of group sex within a family, child abuse and rape, according to The Daily Mail.

The unidentified school sacked the two teachers who were supervising the play for gross misconduct after friends and family members watching the performance were left horrified.

The teachers, who have not been identified, are challenging the decision and claiming they had been unfairly dismissed. But the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled the teachers' cases would have to be re-heard after judge Lady Smith decided a previous decision which favoured the staff was "perverse", the Daily Telegraph reported.

"The principal complaint came from a parent who described not only her own distress, but the distress of others, including a girl who was sobbing after the performance and a boy and one of the actors who were vomiting as a result of their distress," she said.

A representative from the local council said the play was "offensive, disturbing and potentially abusive."

The teachers will have their case heard by a new employment tribunal hearing.